Erza lifted her head from Mirajane's embrace, took a deep breath, and began to recount her past and the truth about the Tower of Paradise.
She spoke very slowly, her voice trembling occasionally, but every word was clear.
She spoke of the days of enslavement eight years ago, of Jellal's betrayal, of how she was the only one to escape at the time, and of the companions left behind in the tower.
When she mentioned Jellal, her fists clenched, her nails digging into her palms.
"He was once the person we trusted most, everyone's hope. But that hope turned into despair; he turned everyone into slaves to continue building this tower."
Finally, Erza's voice regained its strength.
"Though I don't know what his goal is, as long as Jellal is defeated, all of this can end."
Just as she finished speaking, a gloomy voice came from the end of the corridor.
"Sister, what did you mean by what you just said?"
Sho, with his dark skin and blonde hair, stepped out from the shadows with a twisted smile. He held playing cards between his fingers, flipping them back and forth.
"To think you'd tell such blatant lies. Are you trying to win the sympathy of your current companions?"
He approached step by step, his voice growing louder and more shrill.
"Jellal said that it was you, Sister, who became obsessed with magic! To pursue a higher path of sorcery, you abandoned us and our past! You are the traitor!"
Lucy clenched her fists and took a step forward to block Erza, glaring at Sho.
"Do you really believe Erza would do something like that? You grew up with her; you should know her better than anyone!"
Sho's expression wavered slightly, but he quickly regained his gloomy demeanor.
Nearby, Riyao tried to pull Erza out of Mirajane's arms, wanting her to stand up straight while talking, only to be smacked on the head by Mirajane.
"Don't cause trouble," Mira said, glaring at him.
Riyao rubbed his head and retreated to the side, looking aggrieved.
Looking at Erza's calm expression and then at Lucy's angry face, Sho's inner turmoil grew.
His hands trembled slightly, and the playing cards nearly fell to the floor.
On one side was Jellal, who had given him hope for eight years, telling him Erza was a traitor and giving him a reason to live.
On the other was Erza, who had given him warmth as a child and was once his only light in the darkness.
He didn't know who to believe.
"I can't tell! I really can't tell, ahhh!"
Sho clutched his head and crouched on the ground, his voice filled with pain and confusion.
Just then, Simon appeared silently behind everyone, his voice low and calm.
"Erza is right. All of this is Jellal's lie."
Sho snapped his head up to look at Simon, his lips trembling, unable to speak.
When Gray saw Simon appear, his expression changed. Remembering the grudge from being ambushed at the casino, he rolled up his sleeves, wanting to settle the score.
Juvia stopped Gray, pressing her hands against his chest and giving his small muscles a slight squeeze.
"Lord Gray, wait. This man clearly knew it was Gray's double at the time, yet he still attacked the double."
(◔◡◔)
She meant that since Simon knew it was a decoy but attacked anyway, it proved he didn't actually want to hurt Gray and was just putting on an act.
Gray paused for a moment and slowly lowered his fists.
While they were busy with their mutual understanding, Riyao looked around, scratched his head, and asked, "Where's Natsu?"
Everyone looked around as well; Natsu had disappeared at some point, without a trace.
Mirajane casually patted Erza's head and spoke in a relaxed tone.
"He probably caught Happy's scent and went to find him."
Riyao clapped his hands and decided to speak Natsu's lines for him.
"In short, to make a long story short, we just need to pin Jellal to the ground and beat him up. Simple and crude, no need to overthink it."
The group began their ascent up the tower. Real men climb a hundred floors!
Unsurprisingly, Natsu had already put on a cat head and was having a blast.
On the other side, Natsu indeed found a cat room and pulled a cat head mask from a shelf onto his head.
It was a fluffy cat-ear mask with two pink cheek pads, looking utterly ridiculous.
Natsu tried to take it off, but the mask was stuck. He yanked it a few times, but it wouldn't budge.
"Ahhh, so gross, I can't wipe it."
He sneezed, and mucus got stuck inside the mask, smearing all over his face. It was itchy and sticky, and he couldn't get to it.
Natsu was so desperate he rolled around on the floor, tossing and turning on the cushions, rubbing the cat head against the padding. The scene was both pitiful and hilarious.
Orz
Just then, the blocky Wally emerged from a corner of the corridor, his square arm raising a gun barrel to aim at the back of Cat-Head Natsu's head.
Bang!
At this dangerous moment, Millianna rushed out.
Like a mother cat protecting her kitten, she slammed into Wally's arm. The gun was knocked off course, and the bullet grazed Natsu's cat ears, hitting the wall and leaving a bullet hole.
Wally rubbed his sore arm, looking confused.
"Millianna, ow, what are you doing?"
Millianna jumped in front of Natsu, spreading her arms to block Wally, her cat-ear headband particularly striking under the lights.
She turned around and unleashed a flurry of cat punches, her small fists raining down on Wally's square shoulders.
"A kitty! That's a kitty! You can't bully a kitty!"
Wally was beaten back, his square face written all over with 'Are you kidding me?'
"How is he a cat?! Look closely, there's clearly a guy under that mask! No matter how you look at it, that's not a cat!"
Natsu's little brain once again sparked with a flash of wisdom.
Wearing the cat mask, he crouched on the ground, placed his hands by his cheeks in a paw gesture, and let out an extremely forced meow.
"Meow~"
Millianna pointed at Natsu, her voice trembling with excitement.
"See! It is a kitty! He's meowing!"
Wally was somewhat speechless, his square face twitching several times.
"You brat, you're actually meowing! Are you even a man?!"
Natsu stayed in character and let out another "Meow."
Unable to take it anymore, Wally shoved Millianna aside, and his body began to change.
His square body disassembled into many small blocks, raining down on Natsu like a barrage of bullets.
Natsu was quick, grabbing a nearby cat pillow to block the blocky attacks. Cotton flew everywhere as the pillow was shredded, but it managed to block the first wave.
Seeing the cat pillow destroyed, Millianna reached out in distress.
"No! Kitty!"
Natsu, staying in character, ignited flames in his hands, punching away the incoming blocks one by one while shouting a chuunibyou-style name.
"Fire Dragon's Cat Punch!"
Millianna's cat-obsessed brain finally caught up. She looked at the flames on Natsu's hands and then at the cat mask, finally realizing there was a real person under it.
"How despicable! You're clearly a person, yet you dressed up as a cat! You played with my feelings!"
Natsu finally retorted after a long while, shouting as he punched away the blocks.
"You're the same! You think you're a cat just because you're wearing cat ears!"
Millianna angrily activated her magic. With a flick of her wrist, several cat binding tubes flew out, precisely wrapping around Natsu's limbs and body.
[Cat Restraint]
Natsu was tied up tight. He tried to break free but found he couldn't use his magic; his flames were instantly extinguished under the suppression of the binding tubes.
Seeing Natsu restrained, Wally finally showed a smug smile. His square body reassembled, and he raised his gun to Natsu's head.
"Finally, I can finish off this fake cat."
Just as Natsu was about to be executed by Wally, a blue figure flew down from the ceiling.
Happy!
He clenched his small paws and delivered a fierce cat punch to Wally's square face.
"Don't bully Natsu!"
Wally was sent stumbling by the sudden punch. His aim went wide, and the bullet hit the ceiling.
Natsu took the opportunity to maliciously act cute. Wearing the cat mask, he tilted his head, blinked his eyes, and let out a pitiful cat cry.
"Meow~"
Looking at Cat-Head Natsu's pitiful appearance, Millianna's face under the cat-ear headband flushed instantly. She held her hands to her heart, staring blankly at Natsu, her lips curling upward uncontrollably.
"So... so cute..."
Her reason and emotions fought a fierce battle, but in the end, her heart softened. With a flick of her wrist, the cat binding tubes loosened.
"Fine, fine, considering how cute you are."
Once freed from the restraints, Natsu's cat mask finally fell off, revealing a face full of fury.
His hands ignited with flames even more intense than before. With one punch each, his Fire Dragon's Cat Punch knocked down both Wally and Millianna.
The two fell to the ground, seeing stars.
Natsu clapped his hands, looked at the two lying on the ground, and huffed.
Happy flew in a circle nearby, tilting his head. "Natsu, you seemed to be enjoying yourself when you were meowing just now."
"Shut up!"